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Process for color-correcting & stabilizing with multi-camera
Hello everyone. I’ve been browsing around here for a while, and finally have a question that hasn’t been asked before (or at least that I could find).
I am working on a DVD of a high school play. This is the 2nd one that I’ve been tasked with, and I’d like to do better than I did the last time.
It was shot with 3 tripod mounted cameras and 1 handheld. The files are AVCHD, each file is about 40 min long (4Gb), two files from each camera for each act of the play. 8 files per act, which I am treating as separate videos.
I need to do some color correction on all of them, and I need to stabilize the handheld a bit.
I know how to align the tracks & cut between them, crop, zoom, pan, etc. I haven’t had to color correct or stabilize before. I’ve played around a bit, and know how I can do it, but it seems like there must be a better way than what I’ve come up with.
I’m planning on taking the two files from each camera and rendering them as a single file, which I will then color correct and stabilize, outputting to another new file. The final color-corrected/stabilized files (one per camera) will go into Vegas, aligned, and then sliced into takes and panned/zoomed etc. to create the final output.
Does that seem reasonable? Is there a better way than creating intermediate files?
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8 Replies
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[Randy Porter] “I’m planning on taking the two files from each camera and rendering them as a single file, which I will then color correct and stabilize, outputting to another new file. The final color-corrected/stabilized files (one per camera) will go into Vegas, aligned, and then sliced into takes and panned/zoomed etc. to create the final output.”
Sound like a lot of unnecessary work. I would color correct the files at the media level. In other words, go to the Project Media and apply a Media FX to the files to color correct and stabilize them. That way, it doesn’t matter where you use them or how many events you cut them into, the color correction will be applied.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
In addition to what John said, the Sony “color match” plugin is helpful in matching the colors.
Roger Bansemer – PaintingAndTravel.com
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If you are using Sony Vegas Pro, why not use the built-in multicam plug-in? You can lay down your tracks on the timeline, one for each camera and then colour correct/match with a quadcam view of all cameras simultaneously at either the event or track level.
I use the Ultimate S Pro plug-in from Vasst which is a fantastic tool that also includes a Quadcam editing tool. I edit almost exclusively with multiple cameras using quadcam and have probably edited well over 100 projects with it: school plays, concerts, live theatre and ice skating events.
As John said, you have a very cumbersome workflow, and rendering out files can also reduce the quality. I would learn how to multi-cam edit. I am surprised John did not plug Vasst Ultimate S 🙂 as he developed the software. The tool does not have a super steep learning curve and is THE tool to use. I cannot recommend it more highly enough.
I don’t use the built-in multi-cam editor of SVP as it is nowhere near as flexible as Vasst’s quadcam. If John sees this post he might even point you to a tutorial he has written showing how to use his great tool.
As for stabilising media, you need to take care, as over doing it will result is strange motion artefacts appearing such as strobing and jerkiness.
My system specs: Intel i7 970, 12GB RAM, ASUS P6T, Vegas Pro 12 (x64), Windows 7 x64 Ultimate, Vegas Production Assistant 1.0, VASST Ultimate S Pro 4.1, Neat Video Pro 2.6
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[Nigel O'Neill] “As John said, you have a very cumbersome workflow,”
That’s kind of what I was asking. I can ‘get it done’, but I know that I’m not doing it efficiently.
The school isn’t likely to purchase anything like additional plugins, so Vegas multicamera is what I’m using.
When I use the multicamera in Vegas, I’ve run into occasional problems trying to sync the 2nd half of the act – video clip 2 from each camera. After I sync the first clips, I have a partial frame gap before the 2nd clip. I’ve played with it, but it seems that concatonating the files first is the simplest way to prevent it. I color-correct there too, since it has to be done some time.
What would be the correct workflow to accomplish what I need? Is there a basic tutorial that explains an efficient workflow? Most are focused on much narrower topics, and I seem to need a mid-level overview.
Thanks
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[Randy Porter] ” I have a partial frame gap before the 2nd clip”
Are you using the export tool that came with the camera? You need to use either it or the Device Explorer of SVP (View, Device Explorer), both of which should correctly stitch your footage.
[Randy Porter] “The school isn’t likely to purchase anything like additional plugins”
There is a free version of the multicam plugin, but it only supports 2 cameras
https://vasst.com/store/sony-vegas-freeware/duocam.aspx
Getting the right tools for the job will ultimately save you time and money. I can easily turn around a multicam project in a day with Ultimate S. There is no way I could do so using your work flow.
[Randy Porter] “Is there a basic tutorial that explains an efficient workflow?”
These tutorials may help:
https://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/cutting_with_the_vegas_pro_multi-camera_editing_tools
https://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/training/vegaspro/videos[Randy Porter] ” I color-correct there “
I usually colour correct at the event level, but you can also do so in project media or at track level. I do it at event level as I sometimes need to colour correct certain portions of the event due to light changes.
The best colour correction advice I can give you is to manually white balance all of your cameras at the same time. It saves LOTS of time in the edit. It really does help if you use the same model of camera or at least cameras from the same manufacturer. I use 3 Sony Z1P’s. One is mine, the other belongs to a friend and the 3rd is a loaner from a University/school. It gets tricky if you mix CCD and CMOS based cameras as they process the image differently. It can be done, but you then have to colour correct in post production.
I also run with auto-iris and auto-gain. The only thing I run manual is focus and zoom. If I have mixed lighting, such as theatre lighting and LEDs), I white balance on the theatre lighting only. The LED lit sections may appear a bit off-colour, but so long as all cameras match, no one seems to mind or notice).
When in Vegas I usually then have to add a touch of contrast (+0.0035 to +0.074) to crush the blacks slightly, and then a bit of colour curves (both axis) to lift the brightness without increasing the contrast.
My system specs: Intel i7 970, 12GB RAM, ASUS P6T, Vegas Pro 12 (x64), Windows 7 x64 Ultimate, Vegas Production Assistant 1.0, VASST Ultimate S Pro 4.1, Neat Video Pro 2.6
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In addition to what Nigel said, if you don’t white balance your cameras and you need to correct for this, add the correction at the Media FX level. Then add any additional correction at the track or event level. Note that the only track FX that you can use are on the multicam track for overall color grading because individual camera track FX will not carry over to the unified multicam track.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
[John Rofrano] “add the correction at the Media FX level”
Thanks John. I missed the obvious 🙂
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[Nigel O'Neill] “Thanks John. I missed the obvious :-)”
With so many options for adding FX in Vegas Pro, that’s an easy thing to do. 😉
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com
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